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(Hays, KS) February 29 2016 – HaysMed will host a Women’s Health Symposium on Wednesday, March 30. The program will be held at the Hadley Rooms with registration beginning at 8:30 and the program running from 9:00 am – 4:30 pm.

The topics to be covered are women and heart disease, breast health, obesity in pregnancy, menopause, women and exercise and domestic violence.

This program is designed for Physicians, PAs, ARNPs, Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, Respiratory Therapists, Social Workers, PTs, OTs and other interested healthcare professionals. SIX (6) hours of continuing education credit are available for CNE, CME and Respiratory Therapy credit. Approval is pending for ASRT Category A credit. Paperwork will be provided to submit for KOTA and KPTA for credit.

Fee for the symposium is $60 for non HaysMed associates and $30 for Critical Access Hospital employees. A $25 registration is required for students. Seating is limited to 150 people.

(Hays, KS) February 29, 2016 – Get a jump on summer and enroll your child in HaysMed’s Center for Health Improvement indoor swimming lessons. Offered year round all lessons are based on the Red Cross curriculum and include Parent and Child Aquatics, Preschool Aquatics and Learn to Swim Levels 1-4.

The Center offers both group classes and private lessons. “Group classes are kept small for greater individual attention.” Said Kelly Flaska, Aquatic/Fitness Supervisor. A maximum of 5 students is allowed for the Parent and Child/Learn to Swim and a maximum of 3 students is allowed for the Preschool Aquatics.

“We also have private lessons that offer one on one instruction” noted Flaska. “The lessons are designed for all ages and abilities.” The lessons are 30 minutes and can be scheduled at your convenience.

Emergencies, including heart attacks, strokes or choking incidents can happen anywhere at any time, and Hays Medical Center is taking steps to help ensure people are ready.

The hospital invited the community to take part in its free “Stayin’ Alive Hands-Only CPR” training course Saturday at the Center for Health Improvement.

“The disco song, ‘Stayin’ Alive’ is the same beat you need when you do compressions,” said Debbie McLaren, education certification course coordinator at HaysMed.

A crowd of people filed into the center gymnasium to learn updated techniques involving breathing, compressions and timing.

Don Klaus, Hays, attended with his granddaughter, Cadee, 8.

“We came so we could learn to save lives, and especially so I can take care of my grandkids,” Klaus said.

Volunteer instructors from HaysMed, Fort Hays State University and several other organizations led the course, according to McLaren.

“The brain can only go a very short time without oxygen,” said Lillian Slater, director of education for Ellis County EMS. “If the bystanders don’t start it, even if we’re the quickest we can be, we’re not going to usually get there in time to have a good outcome.”

Slater explained how CPR techniques have become easier to learn over time because the steps have been simplified.

“It isn’t that important to do the ventilations, as long as they can do compressions,” she said. “When people collapse from cardiac arrest, they still have oxygen in their blood, so if bystanders can just pump that around, it can be successful.”

The HaysMed Foundation provided CPR kits for participants to take home, which included an instructional DVD and blow-up mannequins.

HaysMed has conducted the community CPR course for approximately 17 years, according to McLaren, who said the hospital usually offers it around the end of February or beginning of March.

“You really want to get that CPR going for when EMS arrives,” McLaren said. “Time is everything when it comes to saving a life.”

In an effort to help prospective parents find hospitals that deliver quality, affordable maternity care, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas announced HaysMed has been designated as one of the first hospitals to receive the Blue Distinction Center+ for Maternity Care designation, a new designation under the Blue Distinction® Specialty Care program.

Blue Distinction Centers+ for Maternity Care, an expansion of the national Blue Distinction Specialty Care program, are hospitals recognized for delivering quality specialty care safely and effectively, based on objective measures developed with input from the medical community. To receive a Blue Distinction Centers+ for Maternity Care designation, a hospital must also meet requirements for cost efficiency. Hospitals were assessed using a combination of publicly available quality information and cost measures derived from Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies’ medical claims.

“Hays Medical Center strives to provide quality care to all individuals in Northwest Kansas. This Distinction is recognition for the commitment we have made to Maternity Care. As the only provider of Maternity Care in Northwest Kansas that offers Board Certified Physicians in Obstetrics, Anesthesia and Pediatrics, it is great to be recognized as a provider of quality care. ” said Terry Siek, Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Services at HaysMed.

Nearly four million babies are born in the U.S. annually, making childbirth the most common cause of hospitalization.

“Improving quality of care while also attaining cost efficiency is integral to transforming the health care system, so we are proud to recognize HaysMed for demonstrating higher levels of quality, expertise and efficiency resulting in better maternity care for our members,” said Andrew C. Corbin, BCBSKS president/CEO.

This new Blue Distinction Centers+ for Maternity Care program evaluates hospitals on several quality measures, including the percentage of newborns that fall into the category of early elective delivery, an ongoing concern in the medical community. Compared with babies born 39 weeks or later, early term infants face higher risks of infant death and respiratory ailments such as respiratory distress syndrome, pneumonia, and respiratory failure, among other conditions. These babies also have a higher rate of admission to neonatal intensive care units.

In addition, hospitals that receive a Blue Distinction Center+ for Maternity Care designation agreed to meet requirements that align with principles that support evidence-based practices of care, as well as having initiated programs to promote successful breastfeeding, as described in the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative by Baby-Friendly USA or the Mother-Friendly Hospital program by the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS) through its “Ten Steps of Mother-Friendly Care.” The program also evaluates hospitals on overall patient satisfaction, including a willingness to recommend the hospital to others.

Since 2006, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find quality providers for their specialty care needs in the areas of bariatric surgery, cardiac care, complex and rare cancers, knee and hip replacements, spine surgery, and transplants. Research shows that compared to other facilities, those designated as Blue Distinction Centers demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients. On average, Blue Distinction Centers+ are also 20 percent more cost-efficient than non-Blue Distinction Center+ designated health care facilities.

The HaysMed health system includes a private, not-for-profit 207-bed hospital in Hays, Kansas and partner Pawnee Valley Community Hospital, a critical access hospital in Larned, Kansas. HaysMed also co-owns St. Rose Health Center in Great Bend, Kansas with Centura Health. HaysMed acts as the supporting hospital for the 24 Critical Access Hospitals in the NW Kansas Health alliance collaborating on outreach services in more than 30 locations. With more than 1,400 associates and 80 physicians, it is home to the DeBakey Heart Institute; Dreiling/Schmidt Cancer Institute; Hays Orthopedic Institute; and Center for Health Improvement. The hospital also features state of the art robotic surgery, a dedicated breast care center and wound-care management center. HaysMed is Chest Pain Care Accredited and Primary Stroke Certified.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas

For nearly 75 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas has built a reputation of trust with its members and contracting providers by providing outstanding customer service while quickly and accurately processing claims; fairly administering benefit plans and contracts; offering programs, services and tools to help members improve or maintain their health; and operating under the highest ethical standards while being good stewards of premium dollars. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and is the state’s largest insurer, serving all Kansas counties except Johnson and Wyandotte. For more information, visit bcbsks.com.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for nearly 105 million members – one in three Americans. For more information on the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and its member companies, please visit bcbs.com. We encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out The BCBS Blog, for up-to-date information about BCBSA.

About Blue Distinction CentersBlue Distinction Centers (BDC) met overall quality measures for patient safety and outcomes, developed with input from the medical community. A Local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for facilities located in its own service area; for details, contact your Local Blue Plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable health care. Each facility’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan. Facilities in CA, ID, NY, PA, and WA may lie in two Local Blue Plans’ areas, resulting in two evaluations for cost of care; and their own Local Blue Plans decide whether one or both cost of care evaluation(s) must meet BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on bcbs.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For details on a provider’s in-network status or your own policy’s coverage, contact your Local Blue Plan and ask your provider before making an appointment. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for non-covered charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers.

(Hays, KS) February 3, 2016 – Susan G. Komen Kansas is partnering with Hays Medical Center and Midwest Cancer Alliance to present a Komen Impact panel discussion on the latest developments in breast cancer research in Kansas. The conversation will take place on February 18 from 5:00pm-7:00pm at Hays Medical Center. It is free and open to the public.

The panel will be moderated by cancer biologist, Komen researcher and breast cancer advocate, Danny Welch, PhD. Several Kansas oncology professionals and cancer survivors will join Welch in this public forum on cancer innovations and challenges. In addition, representatives from Susan G. Komen Kansas will present an overview of the state of breast cancer in the region.

“We’re excited to be part of this community conversation between breast cancer experts and the people who are directly impacted by the disease,” said Peggy Johnson, breast cancer survivor and former chair of Komen’s National Board of Directors.

According to the Kansas Cancer Registry, nearly 2,000 women in Kansas will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reports that more than 370 women die in Kansas each year from breast cancer-related causes. However, when diagnosed at an early stage, survival rates are greater than 95%.

“This is a great opportunity for recent information to be shared with those impacted by breast cancer and within the community” said Hays Medical Center Nurse Navigator, Lisa Reiter, RN.